Topband: 160 meter 1/8 wave

[List Mail]

An inverted-L should give you some better local station performance, which some like to have for Contesting, as well as useful low-angle performance.
A vertical antenna, top-loaded or otherwise, should give you better DX performance, at the expense of poorer local station performance.
I have both a vertical and a dipole at my station, but rarely use the dipole.
You can use 6 x 20’ top hat (presumably horizontal spokes) as Dave has modelled, or sloping top hat wires as a part of the top set of guys will be easier to set up. You would probably need 3 x 35’ or so wires. Set the top guy points as far out as you can, to make the slope as shallow as possible. If set out as far as your vertical as tall, you’ll have about 45 degrees slope. You’ll be able to tune the antenna to resonance by adjusting the length and slope of the top hat wires. An L-match at the base will give you a nice 50 ohms to match the feed line.
I’ve had top-loaded verticals at my station for years, from too-small aluminium tubing affairs with too-complex top hat arrangements that were very tricky to erect, to an almost full quarterwave vertical tower, with small top-hat wire loading.
73, Luke VK3HJ.

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From: doug dietz
Sent: Friday, 2 April 2021 7:09 AM
To: topband at contesting.com
Subject: Topband: 160 meter 1/8 wave

Is a 160 meter 18 meter vertical with hat equal or better than an inverted l over the same ground plane
Doug. WD8Z 

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